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"People saw me dropping him every day but didn't want to testify (in court)," she said. "My son should have been at school. I was taking him there every single day but he was walking out and going home.

"I was always trying to take him back."

'Bodmin College could have done more,' the mum said

She said that he came home and she drove him back immediately to Bodmin College for the second time of the day.

"Within ten or 15 minutes, he was back," she said. "So this time I went with my husband to make sure he would stay but he didn't."

After appearing before Bodmin Magistrates' Court on October 12, the 49-year-old father was fined £500, a victim surcharge of £50 and Cornwall Council’s prosecution costs of £770. The mother was fined £1,250, a victim surcharge of £125 and the council’s costs of the same amount.

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"It is a bit unfair really and we got a really unfair fine," the mum said. "I asked the school for help but they told me they can't force him to stay. And now we have a huge fine to pay, which is money taken away from my children."

She said her 11-year-old son suffers from separation anxiety.

She added: "When he was at primary school the staff was helping. They would calm him down and he'd be fine the rest of the day.

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Cornwall Council, which is involved as its education welfare officers met with the family but she said one ignored her at school, said: "It is for the court to determine the case based on the evidence brought before it.

"The council’s education welfare service works closely with schools, parents and pupils to try to sort out attendance issues. This may involve arranging home and school visits to discuss the situation.

"They will try to find out the reasons why the child(ren) is not attending school and take steps to try and get them back into school. This includes offering support or signposting to other agencies. Prosecution is a last resort when everything else has failed.

"Not all schools have a local authority education welfare officer as some schools manage this themselves."